Re: what is Klismer music?

[Moshe Denburg <denburg...>]

yoel (at) netvision(dot)net(dot)il wrote:
>
>In Article<4nfheg$lku (at) aphex(dot)direct(dot)ca>, <denburg (at) 
>direct(dot)ca> writes:
>> yoel (at) netvision(dot)net(dot)il wrote:
>> >
>> >Klezmir is an eastern European style of music sung in Yiddish and normally 
>> >played by a rag-tag band including (but not limited to) accordion, violin, 
>> >clarinet. 

(deletions)

>> Pardon my didactic intrusion, but the name is 'Klezmer'; 

(deletions)
 
>You want to be didactic? okay, I'll be didactic too.  The spelling 
>klezmer/klezmir is a transliteration of the Yiddish, and it depends which 
>Yiddish you happen to speak.  Litvaks pronounce the word "klayzmir" and 
>normally spell it with a yod.  Galitzianers shorten the second syllable and 
>will normally spell it with an eyn.  I have also heard the plural pronounced 
>"kleyzmorim" suggesting a spelling with a vav.
>
>Your nitpick...
>

What dictionary are you using? In my experience, words derived from the 
Hebrew may vary in their Yiddish pronunciation but not in spelling. See 
the entry in the Weinreich dictionary under the Hebraic spelling (this is 
the only entry). Klezmorim ('musicians') is indeed a Yiddish 
pronunciation of the plural form of Klezmer ('musician'), but nowhere 
have I seen it written with a vav. Also, in the Weinreich, and in accord 
with the general rule that words derived from the Hebrew are written 
Hebraically, regardless of their Yiddish pronunciation, I see no hint of 
Klezmer with a yod. The 'normal' spelling with a yod that you mention, is 
a case of working from pronunciation to spelling. I believe that the 
general orthographic tendency in Yiddish, where Hebrew derived words 
are concerned, is to preserve the source form of a word primarily, its 
pronunciation secondarily. 

Pursuant to my original response to your using the term Klezmir - I 
wouldn't take anything away from variant pronunciations; however, in 
referring to the context in which the term was being put forward, namely, 
the style of Jewish Music that the original poster asked about, Klezmer 
is the only orthography I have ever seen, until coming across your unique 
usage.

Moshe Denburg